JD.com's Chairman Liu Qiangdong Unleashes Plan for Global Stablecoin Revolution

From E-Commerce Giant to Blockchain Trailblazer: JD's Ambitious Leap

Hang on to your hats, folks! JD.com's big boss, Liu Qiangdong, is gunning for a total shake-up of the financial world with his latest brainchild: a global stablecoin that promises to do what banks can't—settle payments in a jaw-dropping 10 seconds flat. That's right, across continents! And it's all riding on the back of licensed stablecoins and JD's sprawling e-commerce empire.

JD.com isn't just playing around. They're seriously hunting down stablecoin licenses in major economies, and Chairman Qiangdong spilled the beans during a June 17 corporate pow-wow. The goal? To flip cross-border payments on their head.

On Monday, Qiangdong dropped a bombshell in a briefing covered by Sina Technology. He's dreaming big with plans to use blockchain-based stablecoins to cut international transaction times from a sluggish days-long wait to lightning-fast seconds, and slash costs by a whopping 90%. If they pull this off, it's game over for SWIFT's decades-long grip on global corporate cash flows.

"Right now, moving money between companies takes 2 to 4 days on average, and it's costly as hell. Once we nail the B-end payment, we're diving into the C-end. We're aiming for a world where everyone can use our JD stablecoin to pay up when they're shopping anywhere on the globe," Qiangdong declared.

JD.com isn't coming out of nowhere with this. Their subsidiary, Jingdong Technology, has been sneakily working the fintech scene in Hong Kong's sandbox since early 2024, testing stablecoin waters for supplier payments across borders.

At the heart of it all is Zhizhen Chain, JD's very own blockchain beast, already juggling over $7 billion in supply chain finance deals each year. And unlike those fly-by-night crypto schemes, JD's playing it smart, much like Ant Group—building their blockchain inside first, then cashing in on the infrastructure.

Now, JD's in a no-holds-barred race with heavyweights. Their Chinese rival, Ant Group, is chasing its own Hong Kong stablecoin license, while Western giants like Amazon and Walmart are dipping their toes in the same pool. Amazon's looking at a stablecoin for their marketplace, and Walmart's got blockchain patents up their sleeve.

But here's where JD's got the edge: their massive ecosystem. With nearly 600 million users and logistics reaching 20 countries, they could roll out their stablecoin to merchants like a decree, much like Alipay rules the roost in China.